Miraculous
by MeridianGrimm
Summary: Keith and Lance actually work well together when they fight as the miraculous superhero duo, Ladybug and Chat Noir - they just don't know it.
1. Miraculous (i)

Special thanks to Oort on AO3 for being a wonderful and encouraging friend.

About this AU  
If you haven't seen Miraculous Ladybug, you should totally do it. It's cute and funny and has the most spectacular love square which consists of two adorable people with secret identities. The two protagonists, Ladybug and Chat Noir, have objects called "miraculouses" that allow them to power up into superheroes and face off against the supervillain Hawkmoth. Ladybug has powers of good luck and creation, while Chat Noir has powers of bad luck and destruction. Hawkmoth uses his power to take people who have been emotionally compromised (lost a job, had a bad breakup, etc.) and turn them into super-powered villains by possessing them with "akuma". Once the akuma has been cleansed, the victim loses their memory of being a villain.

In ML canon, our heroes have little fairy-like creatures called kwamis that live in the miraculouses, but I left the kwamis out of this AU because it felt weird mixing Voltron and ML characters. ML is set in Paris, but you're welcome to imagine that this fic is set in any big city you want.

* * *

Lance jolts awake at the sound of a scream and realizes that 1) he's fallen asleep in physics again so Pidge is going to have no sympathy when he asks her for help later and 2) there's probably an akuma attack starting in another classroom. The professor, a very pregnant woman who could most certainly not take on an akuma, checks the hall and then orders the class to proceed towards the stairs like it's just a fire drill or some other normal activity. Lance dawdles so he's at the back of the line and then slips into the men's room to close himself in a stall.

After the hero transformation washes over him, Lance jogs towards the sound of pounding footsteps and sees students fleeing from the art wing. " _I am the Sculptor_ ," he hears, " _and all who ignore an artist's hard work in favor of playing favorites will be returned to the earth_."

Lance rounds the corner and spots Ladybug climbing through the third-floor window with his yo-yo in hand. He hastens over to his partner while the villain stands at the pottery wheels and flings chunks of clay at the students. Upon contact, the clay spreads and hardens around whatever it hits and completely encases the object or person.

"Not so fast, Sculptor," Lance declares with a grin, announcing the heroes' presence, "we'll be taking the _wheel_ on this one."

Ladybug rolls his eyes and darts into the classroom with Lance close behind. There are about ten or twelve victims already trapped, with more trying to escape before they get completely taken over. Ladybug dodges a blob of clay and rolls left to take cover behind the teacher's desk. Lance prefers directness over subtlety and hops onto the tables with his staff out. With a flick of his wrist, Lance extends the staff and knocks the continuously replenishing block of clay out of Sculptor's hand.

" _Fools!_ The award for best piece in the class should have been mine, and for your interruption I shall teach you a lesson!" Sculptor retrieves the clay block and slides it into her apron pocket.

"So you're a teacher now, huh? An educator like you should be _fired."_ Then turning to Ladybug, who's moved from his previous position to weave between the tables, Lance adds, "Get it, LB, because to bake pottery you need to –"

" _Get down, Chat_ " Ladybug yells, and Lance gets yanked off the table by a yo-yo at exactly the right moment to miss being slapped with clay.

"I would've been fine!" he exclaims. "I have catlike reflexes."

"I could name _several_ incidents that prove otherwise, but right now we have a job to do."

"Right, so, do you want a distraction?"

"I need time to use Lucky Charm," Ladybug replies, which is probably a yes.

"Your wish is my command, LB, and if you want your other two wishes, I wouldn't mind if you rubbed _my_ lamp someti–"

Ladybug shoves him out into the open. Sculptor immediately turns her gaze on him and Lance grabs the nearest object as a shield. The beads from the tray he'd borrowed scatter across the ground and Lance lets out a curse as he hops onto a chair to avoid slipping. Hopefully Ladybug's restorative power will fix things so he doesn't have to clean them all up.

Behind Sculptor, Ladybug tosses his yo-yo and calls on the Lucky Charm power. Two balled up Ziploc bags drop down into his hands and he looks perplexed. Sculptor looks at Lance and winds up again, but Lance is light on his feet and he's halfway to the photography class's adjoining darkroom by the time she throws. "Haha, Sculptor, I'd have to say that your last attempt wasn't quite as _jarring_ as you expected!"

"Don't think that I will be as merciful on my next throw," she threatens. Now Ladybug is over by the supply closet with a ball of twine, poking holes in the bags and stringing them together, fingers fumbling over some kind of slipknot.

Ladybug darts into place behind the villain and at his signal, Lance pulls out the pun he'd been saving. "You know what, Sculptor? You may believe that you deserve this prize, but I think you haven't _urn-_ ed it."

That gets him a shriek of anger from the villain and a groan from Ladybug, but the trap is sprung and Ladybug uses Sculptor's moment of inattention to shove the bags over each of her hands and then yanks the twine so the slipknot tightens and brings them together. With the villain's hands tied, literally, Ladybug snatches the unformed block of clay from Sculptor's pocket and grinds it underfoot until it's in chunks across the floor, breaking Hawkmoth's power. Immediately, Sculptor drops to her knees and the villain transformation wears off, leaving a student that Lance vaguely recognizes as an upperclassman. Ladybug calmly cleanses the akuma and uses his Miraculous Ladybug power to set everything back to normal.

"Mission accomplished!" Lance declares, bumping fists with his partner. It had taken Lance ten minutes to explain the purpose of a fist bump to Ladybug the first time they had defeated an akuma, but now Ladybug humors Lance at the end of their battles, even if he still doesn't show the same enthusiasm that Lance displays.

"We did well," Ladybug admits with a hint of a smile.

Lance grins. "Thanks. I'm glad that we managed to get her to _vase the music_. Soooo… you got plans for the weekend?"

Ladybug shrugs. "Training, homework, the usual."

There's a long pause, and when Ladybug doesn't say anything more, Lance sighs dramatically before saying: "Why thanks for asking what I'm doing, gorgeous." The term isn't even an exaggeration because Ladybug is unfairly handsome. Even now, after a battle, the only sign of Ladybug's exertion is a lock of hair that had slipped out of his hair tie at some point. The skintight suit makes it clear that Ladybug keeps in shape outside of his time as a superhero, and beneath the mask his eyes are just… lovely. There's really no other word for them. " _I_ will be making plans to outwit my civilian rival in the upcoming school-wide trivia tournament and of _course_ I will be thinking about you."

"You really should be training more," Ladybug replies, completely ignoring the second half of Lance's statement. "Defeating Hawkmoth is an important task."

"Hey! What happened to 'we did well'?"

"There's no such thing as too much practice."

"Yes, yes there is. It's called being no fun. Also, burning out is a thing."

"I doubt that will be a problem in your case."

Lance bristles. "Are you calling me lazy?"

"Think what you want. My earrings are beeping now, so I'll see you for patrol later, Chat."

Lance's ring is warning him too, come to think of it. "Well, this conversation isn't over!" He ducks out of the art room and finds an empty classroom to transform back in.

Lance makes it down to the first floor and is about to sneak out a side exit to join up with the rest of his class when he spies a figure with a familiar mullet headed for the same door. "What are _you_ doing here, Keith?"

"Given that we're all supposed to evacuate when a villain attack breaks out, I could ask you the same thing."

"I was in the bathroom! I missed the whole thing, okay! What's your excuse?"

Keith doesn't look impressed. "I was checking the classrooms on the first and second floor to make sure everyone was out. Happy?"

That's totally a better reason and Lance should have thought of it first. "As long as we can both slip in under Ms. Clement's radar, I guess it doesn't matter what you were doing."

"Finally, something we can agree on."

* * *

There have been many moments since becoming a superhero when Keith has been tempted to use Lucky Charm to slap some polka-dotted duct tape over Chat Noir's mouth. Unfortunately, that would be a misuse of his power and any peace that came from the ensuing silence would be overshadowed by Keith's disappointment in himself.

"So, LB, once we finish our circuit of the city, there's a 24-hour café I know that serves great pastries and fruit tea, though I bet you're a coffee person aren't you? I've pretty much grown up on both with my family, and hey, if you'd rather be out of sight I can stop home and bring some to the roof of city hall and we could drink up there…"

It had taken Keith a while to realize that about half of what Chat Noir said consisted of attempts at flirting. He didn't seem to realize that Keith was a poor target for his affections, since Keith's interests, both fortunately and unfortunately, lay elsewhere.

Keith catches a flash of violet out of the corner of his eye and immediately grabs Chat Noir's wrist to pull the two of them to a stop. His partner follows his gaze and gasps when he too sees the black butterfly trailing purple smoke.

"I'll follow it," Chat Noir says decisively. "You backtrack west and see if you can find out where it came from."

Keith itches for a weapon other than his yo-yo when he realizes that Hawkmoth might be around here. "Call if you need help with the akuma."

"Likewise if you find Hawkmoth. Good luck, LB."

Keith's night vision with the ladybug miraculous isn't as good as Chat Noir's, but he checks every conceivable hiding spot within three blocks of the place where they'd first spotted the akuma. He's about to dial Chat Noir for an update when his yo-yo beeps to signal an incoming call from his partner.

"Chat?"

"Yeah, so uh, I found the dude who was supposed to be akumatized – _sweet quiznak, are those wings?_ – and I snatched the object right out of his hands as soon as the akuma set in, but he's – _no worries, ma'am, nothing to see here_ – kinda following me. Meet me halfway so you can smash this laptop and cleanse the bejeesus out of the akuma?"

"I'll be there." Keith flicks his yo-yo around some metal piping on the next building over and takes off in the direction that Chat Noir had gone. He swings between buildings until he glimpses something large with wings pursuing a dark figure on the ground who could only be Chat Noir. Lowering himself to the ground, Keith runs forward and Chat Noir throws the laptop in his direction. It skitters across the pavement and Keith quickly steps on it, releasing the akuma. After six months of being a superhero, it's practically automatic to cleanse the butterfly and point the confused former villain back the way he'd come, and it's only after everything is back to normal that Keith takes a moment to pause.

"So," Chat Noir pants, winded after his long run, "did you find anything?"

"Not yet, but if Hawkmoth was here, he's long gone now."

"Quiznak. We have no idea where he might be?"

"That's not exactly true. I've got a record of all the akuma attacks in the city, but the map I marked up is at home."

"Ooh, do I finally get to see the Bugcave today, Broody Wayne?"

"For the last time, I don't have anything like that. Are you telling me that you've got a Kitty Corner or something?"

" _Well_ , it's actually more like a lion's den…"

Keith can't tell if Chat is being silly or serious, so he changes the subject. "Anyway, I'll look over the map again and see how dense the attacks have been in the direction that tonight's akuma came from."

"Sounds good, my man. Keep me in the loop."

Keith nods . "Check your messages tomorrow."

* * *

Notes: "Wait a minute," you might say, "why was Ladybug climbing through a window when Keith was already in the building?" He had the same idea as Lance, but waited until they were outside to slip away from the class.

Also, I made some decisions regarding Keith's characterization based on the timeline I have in mind. In Voltron, it's not really clear how much time passed during S1, but they're definitely still getting used to the whole heroing gig. During the show, Keith is shown to be hotheaded and sometimes overconfident during battles, and my belief is that over time, as he integrates more with the team, he'll learn to be more cautious. In this story, he's been partners with Chat Noir for at least six months, so I have written a Keith who is more experienced with teamwork than the Keith in canon. There will still be instances of Keith running headlong into trouble, but his impulsive behavior will be tempered a little by wisdom.

This fic is already written in its entirety and updates will be posted every couple of days to give me time to make minor edits.


	2. Simply the Best

Because I fixed the scene that was bothering me in the final chapter and because I have exactly no chill, you're getting chapter 2 earlier than I'd planned.

In case you were wondering, all of the chapters titles will follow the English opening theme for Miraculous Ladybug.

A character is mentioned in this chapter who doesn't sound like they fit into a Miraculous Ladybug AU (you'll probably guess when you read it), but all will be revealed with time.

* * *

The first time Keith saw Lance, he'd fallen a little bit in love. _Not_ because he was "handsome" or "fantastic" or whatever else Lance likes to say when he's listening to himself talk, but because Keith caught him in a moment of kindness. Keith had been filling out his school application on a park bench when a child nearby started to wail. Keith had never had any younger siblings or cousins, so he wasn't sure if this one was hungry or tired or something else entirely. Either way, Keith looked back down at his papers and tried to concentrate on the application questions. The kid hadn't stopped crying after three straight minutes and Keith had been seriously thinking about relocating when he heard: "Hey there, what's wrong?"

He looked up to see a guy about his age crouched down in front of the little girl.

"I-I can't…" she whimpered.

"Hey, it's okay. Where's your adult?"

"That's – she – I can't find her."

"Gotcha. Let's go look for her, then, yeah?" While the kid picked up her toys, the guy checked the time on his phone and winced, but when she looked back up he was smiling again. The guy cracked a joke and got a watery giggle from her, and as they walked away he began, "So when my baby sister got lost on the day of my brother's wedding, what had actually happened was…"

This act of random kindness, of a stranger taking it upon himself to do something altruistic, made Keith pause. He'd experienced this brand of selflessness before from his adoptive family, but seeing it here surprised him. Keith left the park that day with a good impression of the sweet stranger.

The first time Keith had actually met Lance, the emotional whiplash had been so bad that it took a double session of martial arts practice to get his mind off it after school. He'd been strolling into his new homeroom on the first day of school when he collided with someone walking out. Keith had automatically murmured an apology as he looked up and then his heart skipped in recognition.

"You!" the cute boy said, and Keith had about a second to wonder why the stranger would remember him until he continued: "You're the one who beat me out for first place on the entrance exam!"

Keith blinked. He hadn't looked at the list after learning his own placement, but apparently this stranger had. The homeroom teachers each had a class register with headshots of their students, so stealing a peek wouldn't have been too hard for him. "Oh. Who are you?"

"The name's Lance, and I'm going to be your rival!"

"You what?"

"Rivals! You know, neck-and-neck on tests, trying to break each other's records in gym class, stuff like that. I'm going to win it all!"

Keith had opened his mouth and then shut it. Was this really the same guy who'd been so charming in the park? Did he have a twin? Keith finally said, "I'm not interested in having a rival." It sounded like a lot of work for something unnecessary.

Lance huffed. "People like you and me who are on the same level just have to compete! That's the way it is."

"But we're not on the same level," Keith said, thinking of Lance's demonstration of compassion and people skills, both of which were much better than Keith's.

Lance, unfortunately, took that the wrong way: "First of all, that's rude, and second of all, I'm going to kick your ass this year and show you that I can _totally_ be on your level." He stormed away before Keith could argue, and then Keith got busy over the next few weeks as school kicked into gear and he stumbled upon the ladybug miraculous, so their interactions had only gone downhill from there.

The kicker is, it's been months since then and Keith still doesn't really hate Lance. All of Lance's irritating outbursts about their rivalry aside, his frustrating desire to flirt with anyone in a ten mile radius aside, he's still a decent person and a good student. Every time Keith feels like he's reached the end of his patience with Lance, he'll do something sweet like help one of the older teachers carry textbooks to another classroom or decorate a locker for someone's birthday and then the annoying feelings that Keith had mercilessly squashed down on that first day of school just surge back a little stronger.

Lance can be nice when he wants to, so why is he always so _infuriating?_

* * *

As Lance sets the bowl of popcorn down on his bed next to Hunk, Pidge opens with: "So what's this about you and Ladybug catching an akuma on its way to the victim last night?"

"How do you always _know_ these things?! Neither of us even reported that part!"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Lance stares at her suspiciously. "Do you spy on me? I bet you can access security cameras with your laptop. Is that how?"

"Keep guessing. You're not _that_ interesting, Lance," Pidge says, complete with eye roll.

"Wait, hold on, I have an idea. Listen, LB went to track the akuma's smoke trail but didn't find anything useful. Could you look at the feed from security cameras to see where it came from?"

Pidge's eyes brighten as she considers. "Maybe. Depending on its point of origin, there may be blind spots where we lose its path, but if we do find Hawkmoth's headquarters, we'll be a step closer." A step closer to taking down the city's most persistent supervillain and a step closer to getting back the people whose disappearances are linked to Hawkmoth – including Pidge's brother and father. "I'll definitely look into it. For now, tell us more about the akuma." Lance recounts the events of the previous night and the two of them listen, occasionally asking for clarification.

"So, movie time?" Lance prompts when they're satisfied with his account.

Hunk holds up a hand to pause him. "I – _we_ – have another thing." He makes eye contact with Pidge and the two of them get an excited look that says they've been tinkering with some new creation. "We know you and Ladybug have communicators in your staff and yo-yo, which is useful for long distance communication, but what about during battles when you're using them as weapons? I was thinking that mics might increase your efficiency, and Pidge thought of something the two of us could make." On cue, Pidge fishes a small piece of tech out of her backpack and holds it out to him.

"That is awesome. Awesomer than awesome. That, my friends, is _fantastic_."

"You're a model of eloquence," Pidge deadpans.

Hunk continues their explanation: "Now we know your superhero costume is the product of magic, but if you clip the mic onto the collar when you're in Chat Noir mode, it might stay with the costume when you release the transformation. We can test it out before you give another one to Ladybug."

"Magic and science combined," Pidge says with a grin.

Lance rubs his ring with his thumb. "Let's take it for a test drive."

* * *

A few quiet nights pass after the akuma with the laptop. When the streak breaks – on the same night that Pidge and Hunk clear Lance to take two sets of mics out for himself and Ladybug – the superheroes get two akumas in one night. Lance is about to call it quits after they vanquish the second villain when a voice catches their attention: "Chat Noir, Ladybug!" Lance turns around and his heart stops. The speaker is Shirogane "Shiro" Takashi, a famous pilot from the military university. He'd separated from the growing crowd around the akuma attack site and had managed to catch up with Ladybug and Lance as they ducked down a mostly deserted side street.

Lance might be the one in a magical skintight costume right now, but Shiro has been his hero for ages. Can Lance say something about how cool Shiro is? Would that be weird? It's okay to be in awe of Ladybug, since they're both superheroes, but Chat Noir getting all starry-eyed in front of someone he's just saved might be strange. Shiro's a pretty well-known guy – should Lance acknowledge that, or pretend not to know him?

"I need to speak with you," he says, interrupting Lance's mental debate. "It's urgent."

Lance and Ladybug share a glance and silently agree to hear him out, so Lance looks around for a secluded spot. There's a park nearby, emptied after the akuma attack broke out, and the garden hedges are the perfect cover. Once they're situated inside, Ladybug clears his throat to get their attention. "What was it that you wanted to tell us, Sh– sir?"

"Thank you for hearing me out. My name is Shiro, and I escaped from Hawkmoth's imprisonment. I – I've been gone a year, but unfortunately, I don't remember much of it."

It takes Lance a long moment to process that. Shiro had disappeared from the spotlight a while back, but it had been speculated that he was recruited for a mission which couldn't be shared with the public. To think he'd been abducted… it's unreal. Hoping to avoid the growing feeling of horror, Lance focuses on the last part: "You don't remember anything?"

"I only have bits and pieces of memories from between the time I was taken and now."

Ladybug jumps in, his curiosity clearly sparked. "Do you remember anything about your escape?"

"No, but I thought that if I talked to you or the other hero about what I did remember, you might be able to help me piece it together." _The other hero_ is a mystery, someone who's been around much longer than Ladybug and Chat Noir. The hero has been quietly rescuing citizens in danger since before Hawkmoth even came into the spotlight, and they've never spoken to any members of the press. This underground champion is tentatively known as the Indigo Hero for the dark blue costume sometimes seen in the shadows. "You've been heroes around here for a while, right? I've been back for a few days and I found some articles that mentioned you while catching up on the news."

"Six months, give or take," Ladybug says. "You must have been one of the earliest, if you've been gone a year. The city didn't even officially hypothesize that Hawkmoth was taking people until just before we came onto the scene."

"He takes people who could be a hindrance to him, that much I remember. The prisoners there specialize in different fields, but every one of them is a potential obstacle to him."

Lance raises a hand. "Uh, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why doesn't he kill them?" he asks. "For someone of his position, it would make more sense to eliminate all threats. Plus, he wouldn't have to pay for their upkeep."

"I don't know. I think… he might have been trying to get us to work on something, something that could change everything."

A chill goes down Lance's spine. "He's going to turn his biggest weaknesses into an advantage?"

"It looks like it."

"Oh, quiznak."

* * *

Pidge drops her soda. "Did you say _Shirogane Takashi?"_

That had pretty much been Keith's reaction too, but he just watches the bottle roll away towards the teacher's desk in the classroom where they're holding their clandestine meeting. "Yes. Do you know him?" Keith does, and he's kept his phone on and charged in case Shiro wants to contact him. He's hurt that Shiro hasn't said something yet, maybe contacted Keith to say that he's not dead, but then Keith feels guilty for assuming that he would be a priority for Shiro after returning from a year in Hawkmoth's clutches.

"He worked with Matt and my father. He went missing when they did. You said he escaped? Was there anyone else with him?"

"No, he was alone. He seems to have some issues with memory, possibly because of something Hawkmoth did to him. Chat Noir and I are going to meet with him again tonight to discuss things further. I wanted to get more details last night, but both of our miraculouses were running low after the fight."

"And tonight you'll have the full time to talk about it. Okay, that's good." Pidge looks optimistic and Keith hopes that the information from tonight's meeting doesn't disappoint her. "You have to tell me everything when you're done."

"I had an idea about that, actually, especially since I was going to ask you about this device anyway." He holds out the mic that he'd gotten from Chat Noir yesterday. "Take a look at it. It's clearly crafted from spare parts to other machines, and it almost looks like something you would have put together."

Pidge accepts the gadget. "Maybe Chat Noir is an engineer."

"Maybe," Keith echoes, but he doesn't really think so, and the idea of Chat Noir having an improvised gadget made by someone else has interesting implications. "I could leave this one with you and ask to borrow Chat's on the pretense of leaving mine at home. That way, you could hear the conversation yourself."

Pidge misses the obvious hole in that excuse –the fact that asking for Chat Noir's set would leave him without one – but Keith chalks it up to her excitement. He can mention Chat Noir's spare set later when she's looking to pick Keith's apart. "Thanks. Let me know when you're heading out to meet with them." Keith nods. "Talk to you later, then. We should probably get back to lunch before people notice we're gone." Keith privately thinks that Pidge is the only one at school who would note his absence, but he knows that she spends lunch with Hunk and Lance, who would definitely come looking or at least ask questions.

Pidge had approached Keith shortly after he acquired the ladybug miraculous and offered her help to take down Hawkmoth. He still doesn't know how she'd figured out his identity, but in exchange for knowing his biggest secret, she'd shared hers: Pidge had revealed that she was not a boy, as the rest of the school believed, and explained that she'd needed to come to this school in disguise to find her family. Her brother and father had worked with the principal, Mr. Iverson, who like them was associated with the military academy down the road. Matt and her father had been doing research on a clandestine project for the university when they'd disappeared. Pidge, believing that something had been covered up, had come to the school in disguise and hacked into Mr. Iverson's computer.

The university, and Mr. Iverson by extension, had no idea what had happened to Matt and Samuel Holt, but Pidge kept digging around in recent news articles and found other victims taken under similar circumstances. She'd made the connection that Hawkmoth was responsible, and Keith wouldn't be surprised if she had quietly planted the idea for the city's investigation team to notice.

Having Pidge as a confidante means a lot. Keith needs _someone_ to talk to about his superhero life who's not going to see Ladybug, a champion of the city. He gets along well enough with Chat Noir, but they'd agreed to keep their identities secret in case Hawkmoth captured one of them. He'd initially considered telling his adopted parents, who've known him for seven years now and would definitely believe him, but they're away for a year on sabbatical and something like this is hard to bring up over the phone. Pidge is brilliant and determined and, most importantly, she treats him the same way that he's seen her treat Hunk and Lance, her friends.

It's not an unpleasant feeling.

* * *

Notes: Honestly, Keith and Pidge's friendship is so important to me and I hope we get to see more interactions between them in the upcoming season


	3. Up to the Test

In Keith's public speaking class they've been learning about debates and today they're going to be participating in one. He's not really looking forward to it, mostly because Lance is here and Keith just _knows_ that it's going to devolve into Lance trying to one-up him with no thought of working with his team. Given Lance's recent loss to Keith in the trivia tournament (even though it's not _Keith's_ fault that their category was "80s Music"), he's sure that Lance will be especially motivated today, and Keith doesn't want to get kicked out of class for Lance's unruly behavior.

A girl near the front raises her hand. "We could talk about whether there should be more school field trips."

"That's not divisive," the professor says.

"What about fashion?" another student asks. "Loyalty to brands can be pretty strong, and there's enough variety in style."

The professor considers this for a moment, but ultimately shakes his head. "That's a thought, but it's not something that the whole class is likely to be well versed in. Pick something that's general knowledge, maybe a common subject in the news."

"I think the topic should be heroes," one of Keith's classmates declares. "We could form teams based on which superhero we think is the best."

There are positive murmurings around the room about that, and the professor consents. After a brief vote, the class decides on three teams: Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the Indigo Hero. They go around the room to announce which side they're taking and Keith sees some of their classmates nodding in agreement after Hunk volunteers to argue for Chat Noir. It's good that Chat is getting recognition here despite the mainstream media's intense focus on Ladybug.

For Keith, it's an easy decision. "I'll join the Chat Noir team." It would feel too narcissistic to join his own team and he doesn't know enough about the Indigo Hero to make a strong case. Plus, Chat Noir is a good partner, overall. He's got his flaws, but, well, so does Keith.

"Then I'm on Team Ladybug!" Lance announces out of turn.

"Oh?" Pidge says as she slides a glance and a raised eyebrow in Keith's direction. Keith coughs and looks away. "With all his punning, I thought you'd go for Chat Noir."

"W-well, I do love Chat Noir, but Ladybug is the obvious choice because he's clever and honorable and looks very nice in that skintight costume." There are a couple giggles (and some less-subtle comments of " _yeah_ he does") from their classmates, but Keith ignores that in favor of processing the fact that Lance admires Ladybug. He's distantly pleased at the compliment, of course, but also frustrated that Lance is drawn to Ladybug's celebrity when Keith, who's the _same person_ , sits in a classroom with him five days a week. Ugh.

Keith strolls over to the Chat Noir corner with a notebook and pen, reminding himself that his arguments can't be too personal lest his classmates wonder about his particular knowledge of the superhero. The teams take fifteen minutes to brainstorm and put together their case, and then the debate starts. When it's Keith's turn, he stands up to address the class: "In addition to our previous points, I'd like to stress that Chat Noir has demonstrated loyalty to the city, as seen in his continuous efforts over the past few months, and to his partner." Lance's hand shoots up and Keith sighs, bowing to the inevitable, "Do you have a response to that, Lance?" Some of their classmates snicker in anticipation and Pidge rolls her eyes over in the Indigo Hero corner.

"Loyalty to his partner? That's pretty vague, Keith. What does that even mean?"

"There's significantly more airtime devoted to just Ladybug than to Chat Noir or even the two of them working together. However, it doesn't appear that Chat Noir resents his partner for being the center of attention, since there has been no recorded instance of them arguing about Chat getting the credit he deserves." Keith and Chat Noir sometimes squabble about small things, but even when they do fight they're careful to keep it private. It's important to present a united front. "It takes someone of good character to tolerate that type of unfairness."

"You really think so?" Lance's expression changes, but Keith can't guess what he's feeling at the moment.

"I do."

Lance pauses for a moment, then rallies: "But Ladybug has to deal with the majority of the pressure, then, on top of being in a dangerous job! That makes him the best!"

He's not wrong that Keith feels the weight of responsibility for the city on his shoulders, but he underestimates how much having a partner alleviates some of that stress. "I think having Chat Noir as backup makes Ladybug stronger. Two people have more options for strategy than one, and Chat Noir's ability to make split-second decisions probably takes some of the pressure off."Lance crosses his arms, suddenly a little smug. "That sounds like an opinion, not a fact. What's your evidence that Chat is good at quick decisions?"

"Haven't you ever _seen_ him?" Keith asks, exasperated. "He's been caught on video during attacks jumping off of buildings without his staff and, I don't know, using Cataclysm to destroy something he's standing on in order to take out the villain. Somehow it always works out for him, and it's not just luck. He's got to know that it's dangerous, so he must have a goal every time. Well," Keith amends, remembering some of Chat Noir's wild antics, "at least sometimes."

Lance concedes the point with less disappointment than his loss would imply and leans back in his seat to let Keith continue.

* * *

Lance is sitting in the physics room before class thinking of ways to avoid dozing off when the vice-principal walks in. This unprecedented occurrence sends ripples of murmuring through the classroom and suddenly Lance is wide awake.

She calls for the class's attention. "As you know, Ms. Clement is going on maternity leave starting today, and I'm here to introduce your long-term sub." The vice principal turns towards the door, and Lance's jaw drops when he claps eyes on the figure walking through the door. "This is Mr. Shirogane, and he's worked with your principal before over at the military academy. Please treat him with the same respect you would give another teacher and let him know if you have any questions about the course material. Also…"

Oh wow, Shiro's going to be his teacher. Lance should be excited beyond belief about this –and part of him _is_ internally celebrating – but his mind is drawn back to what Shiro had shared with Lance and Ladybug the other night. Shiro's sobering experience isn't something that he can just recover from in a couple weeks. In addition to all the psychological stress he's probably going under, how's he going to explain the fact that he knows basically nothing about current events from the last year? Does he have someone who's helping him? From the way Shiro had recounted his post-escape experiences to Lance and Ladybug, it doesn't sound like it. Lance wants to offer his help, but he can't let on that he's met Shiro before while in superhero mode.

"Quiznak-ing shit," he hears Pidge whisper next to him.

"Problem?" Lance murmurs back.

"You're not the only one with secret identity problems here. I look just like Matt when I'm dressed like a dude, and Shiro worked with Matt and my dad. He's gonna know who I am. _Quiznak_."

Hunk leans over on Lance's other side to join their whispered conversation. "Talk to him about it after class. Maybe he won't say anything to the principal if you tell the truth. After what he's said to –" and here he looks around furtively, "– two certain people, I don't think he's looking to discourage anyone who's trying to hunt down Hawkmoth." Pidge's expression clears a little at that and all three of them return their attention to the front.

"Thank you," Shiro says with a polite nod as the vice principal excuses herself. Then, addressing the class, he adds, "I'm looking forward to working with you all until your teacher returns."

One of Lance's classmates raises his hand. "Uh, no offense, but what are you doing _here?_ Aren't you mainly a pilot?" That's actually more diplomatic than what Lance was thinking, but same difference.

"I am, but because of an injury and a long-term illness I suffered over the last year, I can't be cleared for active duty yet." There's some murmured surprise and Lance knows that the excuse for Shiro's absence will be common knowledge around the city by the end of the week. Everyone's trying to avoid openly staring at the metal hand emerging from one of Shiro's long sleeves, but it's kinda hard to miss. "The college has enough piloting instructors for the moment, but I still wanted to get involved with something again. When your principal told me that he was looking for a substitute teacher, I decided to apply."

"Can you teach physics?"

Shiro smiles and Lance hears a simultaneous sigh from half the girls in his class. "I know more than enough to pick up where your professor left off and keep the lessons to a high school level."

At the end of class Pidge looks over at Lance and Hunk and they both nod. "You got this," Lance says with a quick thumbs up. Most of the class filters out for gym class, but it becomes quickly apparent that someone else – namely, Keith – is looking to speak to the new teacher in private. He's standing at the podium, shoulders tensed and a dark expression on his face.

"Tomorrow?" Pidge suggests.

"Yeah, tomorrow. That looks like a whole lot of _yikes_."

* * *

"Why didn't you say something when you got back?" All the hurt that Keith had tried to suppress comes back in a single moment, and anger is the easiest method of expression.

"Keith, this isn't the best time –"

"When will be a good time, Shiro?" Keith, as Ladybug, knows that Shiro has been back in town for almost two weeks now and Keith hasn't gotten a single message from him. "I know it's been a long time," a long time since Shiro moved out of his parents' home to go to the Garrison, a long time since he promised his kid neighbor that they'd keep in touch, a long time since Keith stopped getting texts and heard that his closest friend was missing or dead, "but I thought you knew that I would help you however I could."

"We'll talk after school, I promise." Keith opens his mouth to argue, but Shiro holds up a hand, knowing him too well. " _I promise_ , Keith. I don't want you to get in trouble because some passerby saw you talking back to a teacher, and I don't want to disrupt your class attendance. Go ahead."

" _Fine._ I'll hold you to your promise," Keith says before marching out.

Waiting until the end of the day tests Keith's patience to the limit, but after the final bell rings he finds Shiro outside the teacher's lounge and they leave the building together. "Out with it," Keith orders.

"I haven't told my friends that I'm back for two reasons: first, I've been busy with something very important, and second, I don't want to place anyone in danger by being associated with me. I've already asked my parents to go stay with my aunt for a few weeks until I'm sure it's safe."

"Where were you?" Keith asks, even though he knows.

Shiro retells the story of what he remembers from being captured by Hawkmoth. "When I first got back, I thought that if word got around of my escape, Hawkmoth might come for me again. I was also worried that investigators would ask me questions that I couldn't answer and then declare that I was lying. Then, it occurred to me that Hawkmoth already knows that I'm gone, so if he wanted to capture me again, he'd do it whether I told anyone or not. I asked my family to leave so Hawkmoth couldn't use them to get to me. I got a job and a cover story so that I'd be free to move around again in public and do research on Hawkmoth."

"Why didn't you want to talk to the investigation team?"

"I don't know if Hawkmoth is watching them, and if I start to remember my escape, he might overhear and patch up his weak spots. My best shot was to tell someone who Hawkmoth hasn't been able to track."

"Like the heroes?"

"Exactly." Shiro open his mouth again to speak but then closes it, pausing for a long moment. "I understand if you're still upset. It can't have been easy for you, not knowing if I was gone forever. But I don't regret waiting to make sure that the people around me would be safe if I announced I was back. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm still upset," Keith mutters, but since Shiro had told him everything without holding back, he decides to let it drop for now.

* * *

 _Honestly the dramatic irony present in the class debate is one of my favorite things about this chapter._

 _Next time: Ladybug gets help from a surprising source during an akuma attack and a new hero appears._


	4. When Things Go Wrong

A combination of bad timing and Lance actually following the no-jewelry-during-contact-sports rule for once leads to Lance being dragged out of gym class during an akuma attack while his ring sits in the locker room with his school clothes. There's not much he can do, since the changing room is locked during class and Lance has nothing up his sleeves that could be used as a lock pick, but like hell is he doing to leave Ladybug to face this alone. At the very least, he can jump in at a critical moment to draw the villain's attention so Ladybug can make a move.

Lance manages to slip by the gym teacher by asking to use the bathroom in one of the cafés down the road. She looks at him disapprovingly, since they're supposed to stay together after evacuating the school during attacks, but allows it on the condition that he come straight back. He ducks around the corner and circles back to the ground level classrooms. The kids in the corner classroom always leave the windows open, and since acquiring the cat miraculous Lance has learned a trick to pop the screens out from the outside.

Today's villain comes from the registration offices, specifically a student who had been told that he could overload into an upper level elective at the beginning of the semester but is still stuck in the introductory course. " _I am the Time Manager, and I carry the wrath of all students who are infuriated with registration_." Every time he touches someone, an hourglass instantly grows around the victim so that they're trapped in the bottom as sand begins to pour down.

Yikes. Looks like Lance will have to _watch_ out for him, or else he might get _clocked_ by the time-themed villain for being in the way.

Lance backs away from the registration office towards the small closet where the yearbook crew stores their cameras and past yearbooks. He's so focused on avoiding the villain's attention that he doesn't notice he's not alone in the room until he backs into something warm.

Lance whirls around and comes face-to-face with his superhero partner. "Hey L–Ladybug ," he says, remembering at the last minute that only Chat Noir calls him LB.

Ladybug, who's currently adjusting his hair-tie, blinks. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh. Helping you out?"

"You should get out of here while there's still an exit, and Chat will be here soon."

"Why don't I just lend a hand until he shows up then, huh?" He looks around. "What were you doing in here, anyway?"

"Putting together a plan."

"Then it sounds like you could use some help after all."

* * *

Keith supposes it's fortunate that Lance hadn't showed up twenty seconds earlier, otherwise he would've seen Keith's transformation, but he can't help but think that Chat Noir's bad luck is contagious. What are the chances that Lance, of all people, had taken it into his head to help out a superhero without having any superpowers himself? Lance, the boy who always makes everything a competition. Lance, the boy Keith likes.

"Fine," he eventually says, "but you have to follow my lead and run if I tell you to."

"Sounds good. Want me to keep him occupied while you do your superhero voodoo?"

"Yes, but don't get caught. Stay away from corners and watch out for any feints." Lance nods and runs off to confront Time Manager in the open area in front of the main doors. Keith unhooks his yo-yo from his belt. "Lucky Charm!" His yo-yo retracts and a sharp metal stake falls into his hands. "What…?" Keith assesses the area to see how he can put the stake to use.

Lance is doing a good job of keeping the villain's attention. In addition to the boisterous taunting that Keith had half-expected, Lance dodges and rolls so smoothly that Keith wonders if he's taken some gymnastics classes. He's managing to keep the villain in the center of the room, away from any walls that he could be pinned up against. It seems like he's listening to Keith's instructions after all.

Keith goes back to evaluating the space, seeing the front doors, the empty hallways running off in either direction, the small yearbook closet they'd just come from, a couple boxes next to the theatre entrance, a potted tree next to the main office, and a small statue of the school's founder.

Lance stumbles while trying to dodge one of the villain's lunges and Keith's mind goes blank for a crucial second. He drops the stake and charges in, forgetting for the moment that he's Ladybug and the whole city is relying on him. Keith flicks his yo-yo at Time Manager, snags his arm, and yanks.

"Wait, Ladybug, that's not how it's supposed to go!"

It's too late now, though, because Time Manager's attention is all on him and Keith is stuck fighting to keep the villain away from his crush instead of developing a plan to take the akumatized object. Based on past experiences, he'd guess that the akuma is in the planner sticking out of the villain's bag, but Keith will have to be within Time Manager's reach to get it. He retracts the yo-yo and spins it as a shield to slow Time Manager's advance.

Keith spares a second to check on Lance and sees him shove the Lucky Charm stake into the tree's pot. They make eye contact and Lance holds out a hand. "Ladybug, your yo-yo! I've got an idea!" Keith throws it over before he has time to think about what a bad idea this is and ducks under Time Manager's next lunge. For the next few minutes he's too occupied with keeping Time Manager distracted to see what Lance is planning, but when he looks up Lance is literally running circles around the two of them, yo-yo in hand and the other end of the string anchored to the closet's doorknob. On each circuit, Lance wraps the string around the Lucky Charm stake, the curved handle on one of the main doors, and the head of the statue.

Keith catches on to the plan just as Lance springs his trap. On the next pass, Lance pulls the strings off the statue, the stake, and the curved doorknob, and as he runs away from the yearbook closet, he _pulls_. Keith jumps out of the center, but Time Manager is too slow to move as the layers of string tighten around his ankles and trip him up. Before the villain can recover his bearings, Keith darts in and rips the planner in half, releasing the akuma.

After Keith cleanses the butterfly and uses Miraculous Ladybug to restore normal conditions to the school, he leans against the wall to catch his breath.

"So what gives, Ladybug?" Lance starts, causing Keith to jump. "You completely abandoned the Lucky Charm. I've never seen you do that."

Keith doesn't want to admit that he was worried. "It was because you're a civilian, obviously, and my duty is to keep you safe."

"My hero," Lance says, mostly playful but with underlying sincerity. Keith suddenly remembers that Ladybug is Lance's favorite superhero and he fights a blush.

"Uh." Keith is lost for words. "Anytime." Great job, Keith, totally nailed that interaction.

"Seriously, thanks for, you know, saving the city. Villains are such a _chronic_ problem, and I know I personally appreciate not ticking down to an _untimely_ end." Keith doesn't have time to form a response to those puns because in the next moment Lance leans forward and plants a chaste kiss on his cheek, effectively suspending his thought processes.

Keith should thank Lance for his huge role in defeating Time Manager – where _was_ Chat Noir today, anyway? – but now it might come off as thanking him for the kiss. Which he does appreciate, to be sure, but Lance doesn't need to know that. He _shouldn't_ know that, since Keith's identity is a secret that could place Lance in danger. "I guess I'll see you around, then," is what finally comes out of his mouth, and Lance smiles.

* * *

"How's your arm doing?" Chat Noir asks as he settles on the edge of the roof next to Keith.

"Better," Keith answers, rubbing his shoulder, "but it still hurts." Today a villain with super strength had yanked on the powered-up yo-yo while Keith was still swinging from it, and the whiplash had been decidedly painful.

"I brought some cream in case you want it."

Keith blinks. "That wasn't necessary." After a pause, he adds, "But thank you. I might take you up on that after patrol."

There's a quiet cough that comes from neither hero and they both immediately jump to their feet and whip around. "Sorry for disturbing you, but I believe we have something in common."

Standing on the museum's roof with them is a figure dressed in black and yellow, his costume not unlike Keith's and Chat Noir's. It looks like there are wings unfolding from the back, but at this angle it's hard to tell whether they're functional or decorative. Aside from the differences in attire, he's taller than both of them by a handful of centimeters and stands with impeccable posture. Keith unthinkingly mimics him.

Chat Noir speaks up first. "Who are you?"

"I'm a hero, like you. I recently came into possession of an item that transformed me into this. Somehow, I know that it's called a miraculous, and I have a hunch that you know more about this than I do."

"You're like us," Keith confirms. "We came upon our items – separately – right when Hawkmoth started increasing his presence in the city." He hesitates for a moment, but ultimately decides that bringing up his theory won't hurt: "If the timing for the discovery of these miraculouses isn't random, like I've been thinking, then you joining up now suggests that we're going to have battles that need more support."

"Wow, thanks for clueing me in, partner," Chat Noir throws in. "You think us finding them at the same time wasn't an accident?"

"Chat, these are literally magical artifacts. I'm just keeping our options open." Then, looking back at the new hero: "We do our patrol of the city at night, but we're pretty much always on call for attacks during the day."

The hero nods. "I look forward to learning the ropes during patrol. Unfortunately, my job leaves me in charge of others during the day, so I can't leave. My absence would be noticed and might expose them to more danger."

"What are you, a babysitter?" Chat Noir asks.

"Some days it feels like that."

That smile is familiar to Keith, but he tucks the thought away. "We've decided to keep our civilian identities a secret from each other in case Hawkmoth manages to catch one of us. What would you like us to call you?"

"I hold the bee miraculous, so 'Bee' is the most logical choice."

"Boring," Chat Noir declares. "At least add a color or something."

"Hmm, if you think that would help. Something like 'Honeybee' sounds a bit… softer than I'd like."

"Ooh, I see what you mean. And 'Bumblebee' is already a name from the Transformers franchise. And 'Golden Bee' sounds like a Bond villain…"

The hero shrugs. "Then we're back to just 'Bee'."

"Well then, if that's what you want. We will _be_ happy to work with you and you'll see what the _buzz_ is all about."

Keith winces at the lame puns but holds out a hand to shake the new hero's. "Welcome to the team." The hand that takes his is as cool as the metal pipes that Keith had scaled on the way up here, and Keith stifles a small gasp at the unexpected chill. He thinks again about the hero's familiar smile and voice, and wonders if the world is small enough that this new hero could be someone who's recently come back into his life.

* * *

 _Notes: I hope you enjoyed the first interaction between Lance and Ladybug as well as the introduction of the bee miraculous holder. I'm sure you can guess Bee's identity, lol._

 _Next time: Pidge gets an idea about tracking Hawkmoth and Chat Noir loses something important, but he and Keith both gain a new insight._


	5. Miraculous (ii)

"How's the tracking coming along?" Lance asks as he spins around in the wheeled chair next to Pidge. Technically, neither of them are allowed to be in the computer lab after school hours without a teacher, but Pidge can bypass the electronic lock with her eyes closed and Lance doesn't mind bending the rules, so here they are, working on a super-secret project.

Well. Pidge is doing most of the working.

"Yes, Lance, in the five minutes since you last asked me, I've completely solved the mystery of Hawkmoth's villainous hideout."

"Hey! I'm trying to be supportive, show you that I'm interested in the tech side of superhero work. So do you need help? Should I put on some music?"

"I'm fine, but you can log in and stream the radio if you want. I rewound security footage for the last few victims you've interviewed, but when I try to trace the butterflies back to an origin point, all of them have hit different blind spots in the city. I'm working on something that could mark all the paths I've traced so far and do a probability calculation to guess where they all started from."

"That's why you're the best."

Pidge tunes him out for a while as he fiddles with the radio station's website and she doesn't hear him get up to let Hunk in after his robotics club meeting. There's nothing in the world right now but keys tapping – _one step closer, one step closer_ they say. When she sits back to take a breath and crack her knuckles, she finally allows herself to listen again and hears the radio switch over to the news.

"… discovered today that large quantities of plutonium have been stolen over the last several months. Whether or not this is in connection to…"

"What is this, Back to the Future?" she snorts, but then she thinks seriously about what a supervillain could do with enough plutonium and she sobers. "If Hawkmoth is the one who stole it or arranged to have it stolen, then maybe I could find out where it went." Tracing plutonium in a car or van from a known start location might be easier than trawling through footage for a black butterfly at night. It is, admittedly, quite a leap to assume that Hawkmoth is behind it, but Pidge isn't going to discount any possible leads.

Mind whirling, she reaches forward and within minutes cuts through the chemical containment facility's security measures like a knife through butter.

 _One step closer_.

* * *

The skies are clear today and it's warm enough that Keith's jacket is casually laid over the back of the bench instead of being put to use. There's not much traffic in the back of the cemetery, so Keith had taken off his headphones to work through his math homework in the quiet…

Until he's interrupted by a _whump_ , a _snap_ , and an " _oh, quiznak_ " as someone falls from the tree directly into Keith's lap before rolling off the bench onto the ground.

Keith sees flailing limbs and a lot of black clothing before the cat ears register. "Chat?"

"Present and accounted for," the hero says as he disentangles himself from Keith's legs. After wiping off the dust from his pants, Chat Noir looks up, though Keith still spies leaves sticking out of his hair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Just dandy." He blinks at Keith. "What are you doing?"

"Homework."

"Why here?"

 _Family time_ , Keith doesn't say. He'd visited his birth family's headstones before settling in on this bench, but that's not something that Chat Noir needs to know. "I was looking for somewhere quiet."

"It didn't occur to you that a library might also be quiet?"

"There are always people shuffling around. That's not usually the case here," Keith says pointedly, looking around at the cemetery. "I might ask what _you're_ doing here, Chat. Is there an attack?"

"No, no, nothing like that." At Keith's questioning look, Chat Noir continues, "I was just passing through and um, landed on a tree branch the wrong way. I'm looking for something."

"What is it?"

"Something I lost. There are, uh, vague yet important reasons why it would suck if someone else found it." Chat Noir unconsciously touches his collar and Keith suddenly understands: it's the mic. Yeah, it _would_ be really bad if someone found that, especially if Hawkmoth discovered that a citizen had access to the superheroes' private line of communication. The thought that the supervillain would be able to hear their plans during a battle sends a shiver down Keith's spine.

"I can help," he offers.

* * *

Lance opens his mouth to say " _Nice try, Keith, but you're not beating me to it"_ but then he remembers that he's Chat Noir right now. Chat Noir is not rivals with Keith. He _can't_ be rivals with Keith – it would be unfair, since Chat Noir has superpowers, and Lance has too much pride to enjoy that kind of lopsided competition.

Unfortunately, this means that Lance should make an effort to be nice to Keith. Just for now, though! As soon as Lance's transformation has worn off, they can be rivals again.

Keith is still waiting for an answer, so Lance says, "That'd be pretty cool of you." Then, remembering his manners, he adds: "What should I call you?"

"I'm Keith. Pleased to meet you." Lance recalls that Keith had been on Team Chat for the class debate and had said some really, really nice things. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. "What are we looking for?" After Lance describes the device and emphasizes that he doesn't want people to know what they're up to, they circle the edge of the cemetery and hop the fence to skulk between buildings until they reach the site of the most recent villain attack. Keith is good at skulking, which isn't as much of a surprise to Lance as it should be. What _is_ surprising is how well they mesh as a unit, with Lance directing their path through the city and Keith, as a civilian who doesn't really need to hide, peering around corners to give the all-clear.

The church that last night's villain had wandered into is open to the public, and after checking that no one is in there praying at the moment, Lance and Keith wordlessly separate to cover more ground. Lance retraces his movements from last night through the rafters. A few minutes pass in silence until Keith calls up to him. "Chat! There's something hanging from one of the light fixtures." He points and Lance follows the line until he spots a familiar cord wrapped around one arm of a chandelier.

"Aha, that's the spot I got _cat_ apulted to last night." Keith rolls his eyes at the pun while Lance retrieves Pidge and Hunk's homemade tech. The two of them sneak out of the church and back the way they came. It's not really necessary to hide themselves now that Lance has the potential problem clipped securely back onto his costume, but somehow it fits the atmosphere. It becomes a bit of a game as they take bigger chances and find more daring hiding spots. Lance is nearly caught once when a couple of office workers step out a side door for their smoke break, but Keith pulls him down behind a discarded box next to the cardboard recycling.

When they make it back to the cemetery, Lance is surprised to find that he doesn't want to leave. Keith plops down on the same bench, leaving Lance standing there scrambling to draw the conversation out. "So… thanks for helping with that. The extra pair of eyes was good."

"We make a pretty good team," Keith agrees.

This is a different side of Keith than Lance is used to seeing. He seems more open, though whether that's because he's not at school or because he doesn't know that Chat Noir is Lance or some other reason… well, Lance can't venture a guess.

Without warning, Lance is struck with a thought that shocks him to the core: maybe, if they can't be rivals when Lance is like this, it wouldn't be bad to try being friends. Everything in him rebels at the idea – friends, with _Keith?_ – but having Keith along, while weird, had actually made an otherwise dull errand fun.

* * *

Keith finds that with the absence of flirting, Chat Noir is more comfortable to be around. He's still annoyingly fond of puns, but working with him feels natural; after all, they've been partners for months now. This is a chance to connect with Chat Noir in a different way, one that doesn't endanger their secrets.

Chat Noir hovers uncertainly in front of the bench, and Keith slides further to one side and gestures to the open spot. Instead of taking a seat like a normal person, though, Chat plants himself on the back of the bench, feet resting on the wooden slats where Keith is sitting.

"I guess I can see why you like it here. It's, uh, a peaceful spot to hang out."

Keith doesn't point out that talking negates the peacefulness. "It's nice." He remembers a question he'd thought of while they were slinking around the city. "Do you travel in costume a lot outside of villain attacks? Or was this a one-time thing?"

Chat Noir makes a noncommittal shrug. "It's pretty common knowledge that Ladybug and I patrol at night, and lately Bee has been joining our rounds. I guess if you're being strict, not all of that time is spent fighting Hawkmoth's victims. But, like, I don't go to the grocery store like this." Keith mulls that over and the conversation ends. Chat Noir taps his feet and shuffles for a bit before scooting closer to peer over Keith's shoulder. "How's the homework coming?"

"The math isn't bad this weekend. I'm avoiding the literature work, though." He points at his unzipped backpack, where a book of short stories pokes out.

Chat Noir twists his head to read the title. "Wow, I'm studying that one in class right now too."

Keith's hand briefly falters on the page. Chat Noir is reading the same book for school at the same time? The two of them also show up to akuma attacks within minutes of each other, which suggests that they don't live too far apart. Could Chat Noir go to the same school as Keith? It's not something he's considered before, since he tries to avoid puzzling out Chat Noir's civilian identity for safety reasons, but it makes an awful lot of sense.

Keith might even know the face beneath the mask.

* * *

 _Notes: And with that, we've now seen interactions between all combinations of the love square! What do you think?_

 _Next time: The mysterious Indigo Hero steps out of the shadows, Pidge spends study hall #suffering from all the superhero drama, and Lance and Ladybug meet again._


	6. The Luckiest

"Stop it, Chat, we're not going to play I Spy with you. It's dark." Keith massages his temples and thinks wistfully of duct tape again.

Chat Noir pouts. "But we're taking a break, aren't we?"

"Yeah, to stay hydrated. Drink up."

Chat Noir turns to their other partner. "C'mon, Bee, just a couple rounds?"

"I'm afraid Ladybug's right," he says gently. He sounds _exactly_ like Shiro and Keith's not sure how to bring it up in private. Should he even say something at all? The whole reason they've been hiding their civilian identities is for safety, but Shiro's known Keith a long time. He's going to figure it out. "It's dark and not all of us have night vision."

"I'll play on my own then. I spy, with my little eye, something – huh?"

Keith's head jerks up at the surprise in Chat Noir's voice and follows his gaze to the new figure in the shadow of a taller building. A hooded cloak obscures the individual's features and everything else is covered in dark blue.

"Would you be the Indigo Hero?" Bee guesses.

"Some people have called me that," the figure replies, and from just that sentence Keith learns two things: the newcomer is a woman, based on the pitch, and she's not from around here, based on the accent. "I've allowed speculation to continue because it obscures my true purpose from Hawkmoth, but now it's time that I stepped onto the front lines with you all." She draws back her hood and unties the cloak entirely, letting long white hair tumble out in the breeze. Without the cloak it's clear that her costume fades from blue to green towards the back and her mask is painted with stylized peacock feathers.

"You're a miraculous holder," Keith realizes.

"Indeed, and I've been following the call for a long time. Hawkmoth has been publicly known for some months now, but he's been lurking in the city for much longer. My advisor and I think it's reached the point where we need to pool our information with you if we want to defeat him. Let us begin…"

* * *

Sometimes, being the only one who knows what's going on is frustrating. Take today, for instance: Pidge's class has study hall in the chemistry room right now and Keith had _just_ stepped out to go to the nurse's office when the subject of local superheroes comes up. They're a popular topic at the moment, since the previously-named Indigo Hero had revealed her true costume and intentions to the public only a few days ago.

"You saw them on patrol?" Lance asks his history study buddy incredulously, drawing attention from most of the class.

She nods. "Yeah, they were talking on a rooftop, all four of them! I couldn't believe it! The pictures of Princess Peacock don't do her justice – she's built like a basketball player and she's a complete knockout with that gorgeous hair. Definitely the most beautiful of the bunch." Most of the guys are nodding at the statement, but a conflicted expression crosses Lance's face. "What?"

"It's nothing big. I'm definitely with you that the princess is stunning, but I still think Ladybug's the cutest."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'm crushing on Ladybug hardcore."

For Christ's sake, why couldn't Keith have waited five more minutes to walk out? _Five minutes._ No matter what he thinks of Lance, Keith's reaction to this announcement would have been spectacular. Pidge can picture it, almost: surprise, a little bit of disbelief, some embarrassment. Keith could stand to hear more good things about himself and he's missing the _perfect_ opportunity to eavesdrop on his rival waxing poetic about his alter ego. It's not like he'd figure out Lance's secret from just this – both of them have been oblivious about much more obvious hints. That whole pick-your-favorite-superhero discussion had been a dead giveaway. How _hadn't_ they figured it out yet?

"Ladybug seems kind of cold during interviews, though…"

"He's just serious! It can be kinda endearing sometimes, you know?"

Pidge snorts, reluctantly conceding that the potential for hilarity makes it worth it to know both their identities. If only Lance knew who he was talking about. _That_ little revelation would be entertaining to witness too. Pidge has always wondered what it would take to render Lance completely speechless, and she's got a hunch that learning Ladybug's true identity would qualify.

* * *

Lance's eyes widen when he sees a familiar black butterfly pass through the glass of the classroom window and make a beeline for Adeline, whose best friend is conspicuously not sitting next to her in study hall today. It's obvious they've had a fight, but no one else is close enough to either of them to ask about it.

A few things happen in rapid succession: the akuma is absorbed into Adeline's friendship bracelet, the villain transformation sweeps over her, and the class descends into chaos. Unfortunately, Adeline's desk is next to the door and her first act as villain is to use her new power to conjure up rope to seal them in.

"Spread out," Hunk shouts, "make it hard for her to aim!" The class doesn't listen, though, scrambling in groups behind large pieces of furniture like the teacher's desk and a chemical cabinet near the back.

Lance glances over at the windows, but as if on cue the villain shoots glue at the handles. Oh, quiznak, there's no way for Lance to leave now and transform. Chat Noir's going to end up being MIA for the attack at this rate.

She hops on top of her desk. " _My name is Bond_."

"James Bond?" Lance prompts to distract her, eyeing the rope on the door and hoping the name isn't related to bondage. "Because I'm sure we could find a tux and cool car –"

"The bonds of friendship should not be so easily damaged," Bond continues, ignoring Lance. "I will ensure that everything that belongs together stays connected forever." To illustrate her point, she throws a rope that wraps around a nearby desk and chair. The rope brings the two objects together and as soon as she touches them, the rope tightens until the back of the chair snaps off. A couple students whimper.

A glance around shows that Hunk and Lance are the only two still standing. Bond turns her gaze in Lance's direction and he quickly ducks. His schoolbag is knocked off the desk, spilling its contents on the floor, and Lance gets an idea. He crawls down the aisle to reach Rosemarie's fallen purse and snatches the bottle of nail polish remover that he's seen her use when she's bored in class. He weaves between the desks towards the windows while Bond is busy dodging the chairs flying from Hunk's direction, and he starts pouring the contents over the handles, dissolving the glue.

"Lance, what are you doing?" Pidge hisses from under a desk. "We're three floors up, there's no way we're getting out through the windows!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm trying to make sure that Ladybug can get _in_. I don't have anything heavy enough to saw through the rope on the door."

Pidge joins him at the windows to start pulling them open. "That makes sense. How'd you know that this would work?"

"If you think that I've never superglued two things that shouldn't be attached, then you don't know me that well, my friend."

Pidge is surprised into a laugh. "And I suppose with all those sisters, you know enough about nail polish remover?"

"Pfft, are you kidding, they learn from me." Lance turns back to the window and _Ladybug is_ _right there_. "Argh!" he shouts as he jerks back in surprise and lands on his butt. Ladybug raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything as he pushes the screen in to slide through.

"We meet again," Lance says, hoping he sounds cool.

"What's going on here?"

"Oh, right, villain. Her name's Bond and, uh, a butterfly thing flew into her bracelet. Not that I would know what that means or anything."

Ladybug stares at him incredulously. "You saw it?"

"Uh…" Lance hedges, hoping he hasn't just given himself away, "yes?"

"You've got good eyes. Has she got any weaknesses?"

Lance holds up the empty bottle. "Nail polish remover?"

Ladybug doesn't look impressed. Lance is distracted by a shout and turns around to see that Pidge had gone to help Hunk and they'd gotten caught in one of Bond's ropes.

"We need to lead the villain away from here," Ladybug says decisively. "It's like shooting fish in a barrel for her."

"Sure thing, but in case you haven't noticed, I can't do a three-story drop."

"I'll carry you."

Lance's mouth falls open. "O-okay, got it." Being carried by Ladybug definitely isn't something that Lance has imagined before, nope, no sir, he's not going to be horribly distracted while they descend.

Ladybug turns his gaze to Bond and raises his voice: "If you want my miraculous for Hawkmoth, you'll have to come and take it!"

"Wait, what if she doesn't follow us ou– ?" Lance is cut off as Ladybug shoves him through the window onto the ledge. After Ladybug crawls out, he flicks his yo-yo around the nearest tree branch, wraps an arm around Lance's waist, and then they're falling. Lance squeezes his eyes shut and holds onto Ladybug tightly – this kind of drop is scarier when he's not Chat Noir.

Once on the ground, Lance looks back up and sees Bond crawling out the window above them, obviously getting ready to try the same stunt.

"Neat trick. How'd you know that she would come after us?"

Ladybug tugs on his arm and they start running. "Hawkmoth only gives his victims power as long as they try to defeat the superheroes who come after them. He's got some kind of telepathy with them and I guarantee that he ordered Bond to follow us. It'll only work once, though, since Hawkmoth will remember soon that there's no way I would actually run away and leave innocent citizens in danger."

"Where to now, then?"

"The sports shed. We'll have more cover inside." He turns briefly to look at Lance. "You're going to need something to defend yourself with this time. Got anything sharp with you?"

"Just my wits."

"Oh, great."

"Hey, I'm not the one who dragged a civilian into his plan."

"You seemed more than willing last time," Ladybug observed.

"Not complaining, just pointing it out."

They reach the equipment shed and Lance steps forward to pick the lock. Once inside, Ladybug starts pulling apart the track team's hurdles to make it difficult for Bond to move around. The first thing Lance does is grab one of the heavy-duty mops and tug the brush end off. It's too light to be a good staff for him, but it's better than nothing. For a moment, he considers slipping out of the shed and transforming into Chat Noir, but Bond appears on the threshold and the opportunity passes.

* * *

Moving the hurdles around buys Keith a little bit of time. "Lucky Charm!" he calls, and a pair of polka-dotted running shoes drop into his hands. Okay, not bad, he's not sure what he can use them for, but at least they're in his size. Is he supposed to wear them?

Meanwhile, Lance is showing off his dodging skills again, swiping at Bond with his makeshift staff whenever there's an opening. He must've been thinking of Chat Noir when he went looking for a weapon. Keith catalogues their surroundings, looking for something that might help them. The basketballs are piled in a metal wheeled basket near the wall, the soccer team has cones stacked next to the track team's pole-vault mats, and the baseball team's equipment is hanging dangerously over the edge of a rickety old shelf. Bond takes up position next to the shelf and Keith comes up with a plan.

"Lance, your staff," Keith shouts, conscious of the role reversal from their last fight, and Lance must trust that Keith has a plan because he doesn't hesitate before tossing it over. Lance turns to unzip the closest sports bag for a new weapon and grins as he pulls out a dodgeball. While Lance gleefully pelts the villain, Keith works quickly to untie the Lucky Charm's shoelaces and then fasten them both around the staff. He swings the shoes around a couple times to build up momentum and then flicks the staff at the top of the old shelving unit. The shoes fly off the end of the staff and smack into a bag of baseball bats, which hit everything sticking out from the shelf on the way down and strike Bond from a direction she isn't expecting.

Keith moves into position. "Lance! The shelf!" Thankfully, Lance understands immediately. He darts away from where he'd been engaging Bond and gives the rickety shelf one good push. It starts to fall and Bond scrambles to avoid it, her attention so focused on the sports equipment raining down that she runs practically into Keith's arms. He snatches the bracelet off her wrist and pulls until the threads snap.

After Miraculous Ladybug has done its job, Adeline wanders out of the sports shed and Keith joins Lance at the door. "How's she doing?"

"Shaken, but not stirred. Stirred into further negative action, that is." Lance looks at Keith like he's expecting him to laugh.

"Right…" Keith clears his throat. "Thanks for helping out again. You didn't have to."

"It was nothing."

But that's not true, it _is_ something. There had been a classroom full of kids under attack but Lance had been one of the few doing something productive about it. Keith glances around before giving in to his impulse to lay a kiss on Lance's cheek. His skin is soft and smooth and Keith can smell his shampoo.

The enormity of what he's done hits Keith as he pulls back. " _I'm just returning the favor_ ," he blurts out before bolting away to release his transformation somewhere far, far from here.

* * *

 _Notes: Fear not, dear readers, Princess Peacock will appear again - I just wanted to introduce her to the story here. Also, Keith and Lance trusting each other without hesitation during battles makes me so emotional._

 _I have no idea how long it actually takes nail polish remover to dissolve glue, but Google said it would work, so I made a guess that the glue would break down fairly quickly._

 _Next time: Hunk has some exciting news, Keith wishes he'd picked another closet to hide in, and Lance does not admit to reading the Ladyblog._


	7. The Power of Love

When Hunk is the one to call Lance and Pidge for a super-secret meeting, Pidge knows something important is up.

"Hey, so I think I might be a superhero now," Hunk begins once they've checked that Pidge's mom is downstairs in the study. Pidge's house is the default for their superhero meetings because her tech is already set up and it's convenient to have on hand when they make plans for tracking Hawkmoth.

"Whoa, for real? That's awesome!"

Hunk taps the new bracelet on his wrist, a leather strap set with a green stone shaped like a turtle. "I found this an hour ago and it's definitely a miraculous."

"What stone is it?" Pidge asks, leaning in closer.

"I'm not sure. Jade, I think? I was shopping with my nana and we went into this tiny antique store that I've never seen before, and while she was arguing with the shop owner over the price of some hand-painted table lamps, I spotted a desk that had some old jewelry on it. This was sitting right in the middle and I thought my sister Jo might like it, since she's studying marine biology, but the second I picked it up, I _knew_ what it was."

Lance slapped him on the back. "Welcome to the club, Hunk."

Hunk beams. "Thanks. What are the odds that the two of us got miraculouses, huh? Same age, same school, and we already know each other. We could probably work out the probability."

"It's pretty impressive," Pidge agrees, straight-faced. Hunk actually brings the number up to three miraculous holders in one classroom – possibly four, if Keith's hunch about Bee's identity is correct. There are certainly enough akuma attacks at the school to justify having so many.

"Dude, I'm totally gonna show you the ropes of the heroing biz. I'll take you on patrol when we leave tonight. This is going to be a blast."

"It's a good thing we've got spare mics," Hunk notes. "We're up to five heroes now. If Ladybug is right that this isn't a coincidence, something big is about to happen." Pidge shivers a bit at that, part fear and part anticipation. "Something big" could mean something bad like Hawkmoth appearing in person to wreak havoc on the city, but it could also mean finding Matt and her dad. Only time would tell.

As it happens, Lance doesn't get the chance to take Hunk on a proper patrol because his ring beeps with a call from Ladybug while they're studying together. Lance transforms and scrambles over to a blank stretch of wall to answer the video call. Pidge and Hunk listen to the audio from the desk chair and the bed, respectively.

" _I need backup ASAP. You know the saying that bad things come in threes_ _? There's a set of triplets here about two blocks west of the high school who've taken it too literally. Right now they're holed up in a bank, but I don't think they're going to stay there very long. I'm calling up the others too_."

"I'll be there soon, LB, and as it happens, I bumped into another superhero today. He hasn't gotten a chance to test out his powers yet, but he's pretty cool."

" _Right, bring him along. See you there_." Ladybug hangs up.

"Are you sure I should go along for this one, Lance? Like you said, I haven't gotten to try anything out yet."

"Dude, totally come. Even if you don't fight today, you can meet everyone."

Hunk lights up. "Awesome."

Pidge settles back into her chair and gives them a wave as Lance and Hunk pop the screen out of her window. "Have fun storming the castle."

Hunk laughs at the reference. "Think it'll work?"

"It would take a miracle. Or, you know, a couple miraculouses."

* * *

Really, Keith is just minding his own business when he walks in on Chat Noir being proposed to after an attack, and it turns out that even though Ladybug has a greater number of fans, the Chat Noir fans are more hardcore.

He'd already been aware of this on some level ever since the incident where Keith had been in the middle of a dentist's appointment during an attack and Chat Noir had gone in alone. He'd had the villain subdued by the time Keith got there to cleanse the akuma and thus Chat Noir rightfully got the credit for saving an entire convention hall full of people. They held a small indoor parade for him the second day of the anime convention and there had been no fewer than twelve Chat Noir cosplayers present. It didn't make the news, but it certainly did stand out in Keith's mind.

Unfortunately, Keith is pretty sure that he's not about to forget this in a hurry, as much as he might want to erase the event from his memory. He'd just been looking for the exit, since he'd released his transformation in a storage closet and pulled out his hair tie, but the way out is on the other side of the no-longer-empty party room and now he's stuck watching his superhero partner get sweet-talked by a young woman whose "I Chat Noir" tote suggests that she came with other Chat Noir fans to watch the heroes defeat Hawkmoth's latest victim.

"I just really think we'd get along well," she's saying, "and I'm sure that it would only take a few dates before we'd be ready for some bigger steps. Your sense of morality really lines up with my views and I would do my upmost to support you in your work…"

Before Keith can back into the closet and make an unobtrusive escape from this situation, Chat Noir's gaze suddenly locks onto him – not Ladybug now, just Keith – and his eyes widen. Keith immediately puts a finger to his lips and shakes his head, shutting the closet door as quietly as he can manage. Despite the door between them, Keith can still hear as Chat Noir lets the girl down, saying "It's not you, really" and "I just wouldn't feel right making anyone a target for Hawkmoth" and "I'm sorry".

Keith hears the girl leave and then there's silence, and he's starting to wonder if Chat Noir had hightailed it out of there too when there's a knock on the closet door. Keith slowly pushes the door open and faces his partner. A long, awkward silence follows.

"So, how's it going?" Chat Noir says at last.

"It's going good." Keith doesn't elaborate on what he'd been doing in the storage closet, and Chat Noir is probably too preoccupied to ask. "Does that happen a lot?" Keith's been asked out as Ladybug before, but most of his would-be paramours shout their feelings from the crowds that gather after attacks. It's embarrassing, but less so than what he'd just witnessed.

"I can't say it's the first time I've been asked out as Chat Noir, but, um, this is the first time I've had an audience to a proposal. And not that I'm not amazing," he says, bringing out the confident grin that Keith is more used to, "but I'd rather people didn't ask me out as Chat. I can't say yes to a civilian no matter how cute they are, you know?"

"Would you say yes to someone who's not a civilian?" He already knows the answer, sort of, but he wants to hear his partner's thoughts.

"Well, 'Bee' does stand for 'beautiful', but there's like an eight year age difference and he's not interested, so probably not him…"

"And Ladybug?"

"He doesn't flirt or anything, so I can't see him asking me out." That's not a no, and both of them know it.

"Got it," Keith replies. "Sorry for asking."

"It's fine, we're friends." After the words leave his mouth, Chat Noir looks just as shocked as Keith feels. "I–I mean – we _could_ be when I'm like this, but I don't know you that well, so that would be weird, right? We really only bonded that once when we were sneaking into the church, and then again just now when you saw… that."

"I don't mind being your friend."

"Oh." He takes a breath to recover his cool. "There you go, then. I guess I'll know who to call when I want to do some recreational skulking with someone else."

Keith's not sure if Chat Noir is joking or serious, so he picks the option he's hoping for. "That sounds like fun." Keith hasn't met up with someone just to hang out in a while, so training together might be a nice compromise between work and fun. "Do you, um, want my number? I don't know how else we'd get in contact unless we plan in advance. Unless you were joking, of course."

"Oh, sure, contact info, right." Neither of them have anything to write with – Keith because he'd been out on a jog when the attack started and Chat Noir because he's still in the cat suit – so Chat Noir saves the number for his superhero communicator directly into Keith's phone under the name "Most Handsome". Keith changes it to "Questionably Handsome" in full view of Chat Noir and gets an indignant squawk.

"We only ever meet when you're in disguise," Keith points out.

"Don't you trust me? I, an upstanding member of the community, say that I am an attractive example of humanity, so you should definitely believe me." It's more a joke than an attempt at flirtation, so Keith smiles and doesn't think about the fact that Chat Noir has turned down all the girls who approached him but basically asked Keith to be his friend.

* * *

Lance will never admit to Ladybug's face that he regularly reads the Ladyblog, but it's one of the best places to find playbacks of their battles. Things happen really quickly during akuma attacks and it's not always clear what worked and what didn't in terms of coordination and use of their surroundings. Plus, Morgan is one of the mods for the site, so he gets big-brother points for being supportive of her.

He's looking for a video of the akuma that they'd defeated today, but the top headline on the page reads: _"TWO NEW HEROES IN ONE WEEK?"_

"Wait, _two?!_ " Lance immediately clicks the link. The video had been submitted two hours ago, only forty or so minutes after he, Hunk, and Ladybug had finishing battling a soccer player who'd been passed up for captaincy. Bee has been joining Princess Peacock lately in her quest to gather more information, so it's mostly the younger three who patrol after school.

The video, clearly from a bystander's phone, starts up in the middle of a battle with two figures on top of a train at the station. The green figure throws the snakes coiled around her arms at the panicked civilians and one by one they turn to stone. Ah, so she's the villain, probably named after Medusa or something. The hero, who's dressed in orange and much shorter than the villain, swings at Medusa with what looks like a long staff. Medusa jumps back and throws a snake at the hero, who ducks. The hero retreats a few steps and leaps onto the front car as Medusa advances, scrambling over small projections until she's at the edge. Medusa laughs and launches another attack. Onlookers scream, but the hero vanishes in a puff of smoke and Medusa screeches to a stop.

The hero emerges from behind a column on the ground and raises her powered-up weapon to her lips – oh, it's not a staff like Lance's, but an instrument – and begins to play. After a few notes she lowers the flute and a ball of light appears at the end of the instrument. She swings the flute and the ball flies off into space, generating a dozen images of the hero all around the train station. A few converge on Medusa, who jumps to the ground, while more shepherd the civilians towards the exits. At this point the news stations are beginning to show up and they apparently can't decide where to point their cameras.

While two heroes are distracting Medusa from the front, one sneaks up from behind and snatches her hairpin. The two in front vanish and the real, tangible hero runs. Medusa shrieks and whips around to follow her, and from there a dangerous game of cat and mouse starts up.

" _Holy crap, it's Ladybug,_ " someone on the video says, probably the recorder, and the camera jerks over to the entrance, where a fake version of the hero is leading Ladybug inside. This fake had probably been sent out before the video started. The orange hero zig-zags her way over to Ladybug and all but shoves the hairpin at him. He snaps it in half and cleanses the akuma like Lance has seen him do for months.

The news reporters are, understandably, thrilled about the new hero. Now that she's not moving so quickly, her triangle ears, bushy tail, and orange costume are clearer. It's obvious that she's patterned like the other themed heroes of the city.

"Do you have a message for the citizens?"

"Mr. Fox! Are you affiliated with the other heroes in town?"

"What's your hero alias?"

She holds up a hand to stop the questions and scratches her neck, looking less sure of herself now that the battle is over. " _Ms._ Fox is closer to accurate, actually, but you can call me Kit."

From the privacy of his room, Lance gasps. He doesn't miss the fact that Kit is the name for a baby fox, which is a play on her small stature, and is also a diminutive for names like Christopher or Katherine or _Katie_. "Pidge Gunderson, you have some questions to answer."

He picks up his phone to find that he already has three missed calls and two text messages. All three calls and the first message are from Hunk, the latter of which says \PICK UP YOUR PHONE YOU GOOBER/

The second message, from Pidge, consists of only a winking emoji.

* * *

 _Notes: Lots of notes this time! First off, I may someday write a short fic about the bad-things-come-in-threes battle, because I too am wildly curious about what happened and want to give my buddy Hunk more screentime, but I cannot promise it for sure. I am just so exhausted currently that I could not include it in this chapter. I am, however, pleased that I got an opportunity to mention that Lance got his parade :D_

 _I was originally unsure about showing Lance turning down a girl, since he's interested in every girl they come across in Voltron, but I feel sure that Lance in canon wouldn't be comfortable with dating a girl if it put her directly in Zarkon's crosshairs. Besides, the Lance in this AU is already in love._

 _In case you were unfamiliar with the quote, the movie Pidge and Hunk reference is The Princess Bride. If you want another, more angsty reason why Pidge's house is where they go for superhero meetings - Pidge has the fewest other members living in her house right now who might interrupt them. Think about that and cry with me over the missing Holts._

 _Regarding Pidge's superhero name: I didn't use "Volpina" for her because that was the name of the akumatized version of the fox hero in ML, not the actual hero (whom we haven't seen in ML yet). Also, I liked "Kit" too much for the reasons Lance points out :P_

 _Next time: Keith calls a meeting of all the miraculous holders, Hunk's friend gets abducted, and the dynamic duo are both together in costume again._


	8. Always So Strong

_Notes: I've seen various headcanons and speculation about the turtle miraculous floating around tumblr, but I believe credit for the name Jade Turtle goes to thelastpilot, used in their fic "Won't Tell a Soul" and the sequel "The Weight of Jade" (both of which I recommend to ML fans). I definitely don't remember the hero name for the turtle miraculous holder being mentioned explicitly in Miraculous Ladybug, though I could be wrong._

 _Also, sorry if you got an email about an update earlier... I posted the wrong chapter, lol. The last chapter should be up shortly._

* * *

"The ears are cute."

"Look who's talking, kitty cat." Kit doesn't stop Chat Noir from tweaking her ears, though. Keith doesn't bother to get involved, both because he knows he'd get drawn into the conversation if he does and because the contact between them proves that the Kit sitting next to him is the real one. Her ability to create perfect copies of anything leaves him questioning the reality of everything around here, even though he already knows that she would never direct her power at him maliciously.

Pidge had told him about her identity right after they finished with the reporters. "Yeah," she'd said, "I balance enough secrets already without the stress of hiding that I'm Kit from you."

Keith checks his watch. It's still early, but he'd called a meeting of all the heroes for an important reason. With six heroes to oppose him, Hawkmoth seemed to be feeling pressure and has started sending out even more akuma around the city. Keith has been strict about gathering data from all the miraculous holders about where and when the attacks have been, and finally, _finally_ , there's a pattern that lines up with the predictive algorithms that Pidge has been working on. There may or may not have been some semi-coherent whooping (they'd discovered it at about 4am this morning) followed by immediate collapse due to lack of sleep.

The next to arrive is Princess Peacock with her civilian confidant, Coran. She greets them politely but doesn't sit down, preferring instead to stand with perfect posture and scan the cityscape. Coran, conversely, plops down next to Chat Noir and launches into a story from his youth. Bee shows up a few minutes after the other two have settled in, citing a doctor's appointment as the reason for his delay.

Chat Noir, apparently bored with Coran's stories, moves to sit next to Keith. "So what's this meeting for?"

Keith hesitates, but it's probably okay to reveal just the general idea before Jade Turtle [J1] gets here. He's planning to go into detail once they're all gathered. "It's about the map I've been working on with all the attacks."

"Hey, so _now_ do we –"

"No, Chat, you don't get to see the Bugcave."

"Aw, damn."

A loud crash draws Keith's attention. It's Jade Turtle, but the panicked look on his face forestalls any questions that jump to Keith's lips about his hasty landing.

"It's Shay! I think she's just been abducted by Hawkmoth!"

Chat Noir jumps to his feet. "Your girlfriend? How long has she been gone?"

"She's not my girlfriend! She's an astro-geologist that I admire! We were talking on the phone while I was on my way to meet you guys when suddenly there was a scream from her end. She must have hidden her phone because I heard them talking after they wrestled her into a vehicle. One of them mentioned Hawkmoth. I ran the rest of the way here, but the call dropped a couple minutes ago."

"Was she near the old industrial district?" Keith hears himself asking before he can think. Everyone's eyes turn to him.

"I'm not sure. She walks that way on her route back from work sometimes, but she might have been running errands too."

"That's one of the centers where there's the most activity from Hawkmoth. Abductions _and_ akuma attacks are more frequent around there." Keith pulls up the picture of the map that he'd taken on his phone. "Hawkmoth can get to anyone in the city, but according to my map, the numbers increase in small degrees the closer you get to that area. He's obviously trying to create an even spread to hide his headquarters, but he isn't careful enough."

Kit nods. "That's one of the spots where I kept losing Hawkmoth's butterflies and the vans of stolen chemicals too – there weren't enough security cameras around for me to access. That makes two different methods that point to that section of the city."

The other heroes peer at the small image of the map. "Let's go," Bee says decisively. "We'll make two teams and split up when we get there to cover ground faster. We don't know how far they're going to take Shay. Everyone keep an ear out for their communicator in case one group finds her. Ladybug and Chat Noir will go with Jade Turtle and trace Shay's route home. Princess Peacock, Kit, and Coran will come with me and circle the area."

Princess Peacock nods. "Coran will provide backup from the ground with our supplies, as he usually does for me, and he can inform the police where we are if we do find something important."

"Good thinking."

They must make quite a sight, all six of them moving silently over the rooftops, jumping from building to building. Keith worries that someone might spot them and try to follow out of curiosity, which could potentially be a disaster. Hawkmoth already has enough hostages from his year of abductions that he wouldn't need to keep the civilians alive in order to force the superheroes' hands.

Once they get closer, Jade Turtle and Chat Noir fall in line with Keith and the other superheroes separate from them. Keith is hyperaware of how important this is. If they find some trace of Shay and discover where Hawkmoth is hiding his victims, they can dismantle the plan that Shiro has scattered memories of. Hawkmoth might even go down for good if he comes face-to-face with six superheroes. Tonight of all nights, it's vital that Keith doesn't make a mistake – the fate of the city might depend on it.

"We've got this, LB," Chat Noir murmurs, and Keith blinks. Had his anxiety been showing? "We're going to rescue JT's girlfriend –"

"Hey!"

"– and kick some ass. Seriously, we're much stronger now that there are six of us." He pauses, apparently for dramatic effect. "If you're worried about overthinking this, don't let it _bug_ you."

And just like that, Chat Noir has managed to bring Keith back to his center. He releases all of the tension in a heavy sigh. "Did you really have to go for such an obvious pun?" With Chat acting like everything is normal, it's a little easier for Keith to feel the same.

Chat laughs. "Always. You're welcome."

* * *

As it turns out, when Hawkmoth had set up an underground hideout, he took the "underground" part pretty seriously. Setting up defenses for his headquarters must have been a topic of great debate – it had to be easy for his underlings to enter the abandoned building above headquarters without looking suspicious, but it also had to be secure enough that outsiders couldn't just wander in and prisoners couldn't just wander out. By Lance's reckoning, there must have been a compromise: they'd made it _really hard to find_ but then only posted a few discreet guards on the outer doors. It was only towards the heart of Hawkmoth's headquarters that they'd beefed up security.

The only reason the heroes had actually found the place was their haste to get Shay back. Her abductors hadn't had time to come back and remove her abandoned purse, headband, and bracelet, all of which were scattered like a trail of breadcrumbs between a sketchy van on the street and a supposedly empty building. After that, it was just a matter of taking out a couple guards and overcoming their electronic security, which folded like a house of cards under Pidge and Hunk's combined technical skill.

Amazingly, the whole superhero squad makes it down fifteen floors below the surface (by way of the stairwells, _ugh,_ why do villains have video cameras in their elevators anyway?) before they encounter any real resistance. After Princess Peacock singlehandedly tosses three goons like a sack of potatoes and knocks each of them out cold, Bee holds up a hand to stop the group. "We need a plan. Our first priority is to get all of Hawkmoth's victims to safety, but we also need to consider the long term. If Hawkmoth escapes now, he'll just set up somewhere else and start from scratch again. We need to take him out in one shot."

"Agreed," Princess Peacock says. "I'll take a team to find Hawkmoth; the rest will evacuate the victims."

"I want to come with you," Pidge declares.

Lance thinks about her father and brother, who are probably locked up right now. Hunk speaks for both of them when he says, "Kit, are you sure?"

Her expression hardens. "I'll make sure that he never gets the chance to take families away from anyone again."

"Very well," Princess Peacock says. "Kit will come with me."

Ladybug jumps in: "Chat Noir and I will stick together if the evacuation team needs to split up, and Jade Turtle can pair up with Bee."

"Everyone be careful," Bee warns, and then the girls split off.

At first they're quiet, trying to move around without alerting the whole base to their presence, but when two security officers round the corner and fire off guns with real ammunition, their secrecy is basically blown to pieces.

Lance points at one of the signs on the wall. "The prison blocks!"

"It looks like there's more than one," Bee observes.

"LB, we've got Block A, let's go." With a quick nod to Bee and Hunk, Lance grabs Ladybug's hand and they take off. Luckily, between Ladybug's talent with the powered up yo-yo and Lance's improving skill with his staff, they don't have to use Lucky Charm or Cataclysm to get to the level with the cells.

They're met with a fancy-looking lock that seems to be hooked up to a box on the ceiling that probably scans whoever is underneath it. Lance flicks open the communicator on his staff since Hunk and Pidge's mics don't have video. "Yo, Kit, some technical help would be good."

"Kinda busy right now." She growls at an attacking henchman and there's a _thunk_ as he goes down.

"But you're our stealth specialist."

"We're a bit past 'stealth' now, you guys. Ask Jade Turtle, he's the better engineer."

Ladybug frowns. "How do you –"

"Got it," Lance says, disconnecting the call and dialing Hunk. "JT, have you guys gotten to the cells yet? We're stuck at a door with a lock that looks pretty serious." Lance shows him the ceiling box and the door.

"Hey, man. No, we're not there yet, we've run into a bunch of guards. I can't do anything about the lock without seeing the insides, and I'm fighting my way down right now too. Your best bet? Use Cataclysm on the door. Otherwise you'd have to go into the box and manually disable – oh, _quiznak_ , gotta go Chat!" Hunk hangs up.

Lance looks up at the box. "Well, dibs on tearing out the wires."

Ladybug boosts Lance up on his shoulders to cut the wires. Cataclysm would have worked too, but it isn't safe for Lance to release his transformation and recharge in enemy territory, so the longer they can put off using their miraculous powers, the better. If tearing out the wires doesn't work, though, he can always use Cataclysm after.

Thankfully, the lock clicks open. Lance dismounts and Keith opens the door to a long hallway with doors that are starting to open. Huh, maybe opening the main door disarmed the rest as well? Confused people peer at them from their doorways.

"Everything's going to be okay," Lance reassures the prisoners, gesturing them to come towards the exit. "We're here to get you to safety."

One of the women from the closest room tilts her head. "You two are enemies of Hawkmoth?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Enemies must be eliminated

* * *

 _Next time: Hawkmoth reveals something about the past, Lance makes a shocking connection during battle, and Chat Noir and Ladybug have an important conversation when the dust settles._


	9. Miraculous (iii)

The main door in Prison Block B had opened after Hunk poked around in its innards, but the hallway stretches forward into the distance full of locked doors. When Bee breaks the lock on the first door with a fire extinguisher, a tall woman about Jo's age stumbles out and collapses against Hunk in relief. "Oh, thank _god_. Another thirty minutes and we would've been out there again." Behind her, the other inmates nod wearily.

Hunk and Bee exchange glances. "What are you talking about?"

"Hawkmoth's top henchman, he can't keep us all under control at once, so we go in shifts."

"Control?"

"He's got a villain called Extractor who uses mind control to force us to work on Hawkmoth's project. No one has ever managed to resist him."

"Uh, what happens when a group is about to start a shift?" Hunk asks, thinking of Lance and Ladybug, who broke off towards Prison Block A and might be running directly into danger.

"Extractor replaces their will with the desire to aid Hawkmoth and then the doors unlock one by one."

Hunk's eyes widen. "We need to warn everyone else."

"I'm on it." Bee clicks on his mic and starts talking to the others. Lance and Ladybug have already guessed about mind control being a factor, but Princess Peacock and Pidge shift their focus to taking out Extractor first.

Before they can start coordinating an evacuation plan, though, there's a crackling sound and suddenly a television screen that had been dormant in the corner flickers to life. Hunk's heart stops for a long moment when the figure on the screen becomes clear. It's the first look that he's ever had of Hawkmoth, but despite the dark butterfly mask across his face, there's nothing gentle about him. Hunk is frozen in terror, but a stifled sob from the girl in his arms reminds him that this could be Shay, _would_ be Shay if Hunk didn't do something.

"Greetings," Hawkmoth booms. "I see we have some special guests in the building this evening. What a momentous occasion indeed. Not only are all of the so-called defenders of justice present, we are also graced with the return of the villain Champion. I remember, you knew so much about the Garrison and shared so willingly under the hands of Extractor. Then, after your memory was damaged, you were one of my best villains. It was only a fluke that you were the one to escape."

" _No_ ," Bee breathes. "It can't be. I wouldn't."

And Hunk realizes that if Bee is the only one who's ever escaped Hawkmoth, then he's actually Shirogane Takashi, and if Shiro is here, in the place where his trauma weighs the heaviest on him, then it's going to be up to Hunk to act.

He starts by jumping up to press the power button on the monitor, cutting Hawkmoth off from doing further damage to Bee. "We'll get this sorted out when we catch Hawkmoth, but now there are people here that need us. Let's start by getting the rest of the doors unlocked." Shay has to be in here somewhere, and Hunk vows that he won't rest until his friend is safe again.

* * *

Fortunately, Lance and Ladybug manage to block the entrance to Prison Block A by having Lance slide anything and everything he finds in front of the door while Ladybug leans against it.

Unfortunately, in their quest to meet up with the other heroes to find a solution to the mind control problem, they somehow end up in a room the size of an airplane hangar that's filled with giant metal contraptions and no fewer than a hundred people who are most definitely brainwashed by Hawkmoth's pet akuma.

Fortunately, many of these people aren't trained in combat.

Unfortunately, that means that they see nothing wrong with resorting to fighting six-on-one, throwing expensive equipment, and hair-pulling.

Lance can't tell whose luck they're having tonight, his or Ladybug's. At least Lance's hair is too short to pull on.

After a few intense minutes in the center of the fray, Lance glances over to check on his partner and jerks to a stop mid-punch as he realizes that he's never seen Ladybug without his hair pulled back. It's practical to have it out of the way during a fight, of course, but only now that Ladybug's hair tie has been yanked out does it strike Lance that it's also less noticeable that way. Lance's jaw drops open and the words are out of his mouth before he can fully register their meaning: " _I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!"_

"Oh my _god,_ what now?" Ladybug looks over to throw him a glare and suddenly his mouth falls open too, eyes widening in horror as his brain catches up to the fact that they're not at school right now and the person he's talking to is his superhero partner.

" _You're_ Ladybug?" Lance shrieks as he shoves another enemy away.

"Holy quiznak."

"That's my line!" Ladybug is Keith. Keith is Ladybug. What the actual hell. "I can't believe you beat me at _being a superhero_ too!"

"For god's sake, Chat, you want to do this _now?_ "

"Well –" he dislocates a shoulder and feels briefly guilty about injuring someone who's brainwashed, "–it's not ideal, obviously, but we have to do it at some point!"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to spill our personal business to a room full of witnesses. When the battle's over, then we'll talk."

"Ugh, fine, be _reasonable_ about it."

They spend about an hour just tossing Extractor's thralls left and right, trying to do enough damage to keep them down without causing any long-lasting injury. In a word, it sucks. Lance is exhausted, and Ladybug's movements are starting to slow down too. Most of their battles don't last this long. Lance wants a break, but he knows that even though this wasn't part of the plan, he and Ladybug are essentially the distraction. If the brainwashed victims get even a hint that Bee and Hunk are probably freeing the other prisoners, they'd charge off to stop them.

Lance is so tired that he can't block fast enough anymore, and one of the victims gets in a lucky blow to his face. It's probably not enough for a concussion, but it still brings tears swimming to his eyes. "Ow!" While he's blinking his vision back to normal, another blow connects on his shoulder from a second brainwashed prisoner. He stumbles backwards until he hits a warm obstacle.

"You okay, Chat?" he hears behind him.

Recognizing the voice, Lance leans against his partner's back for a moment. "Gimme a second."

"I do keep telling you that you should train more," Ladybug says, but the words are halfhearted and tired like Lance.

"Hasn't done you much good, has it?"

"I'm in better shape than you."

Lance assesses the situation, with the two of them running out of steam and too many of Hawkmoth's prisoners surrounding them, still looking eager to fight. "It's not going to be enough." It would only take one serious blow to the head to take either of them out of the battle permanently.

"The odds aren't looking good," Ladybug agrees.

Lance sends a prayer that his family will understand if something happens to him. He takes a deep breath to prepare himself for the prisoners' next offensive –

But then luckily, miraculously, the room falls perfectly still.

* * *

The television monitors come to life again, but instead of Hawkmoth, Kit appears with a bound, unconscious Extractor. Given Pidge's untamed imagination and her particular determination in this case, it had probably been more involved than "creating some harmless old ghosts" as she claims. Keith wouldn't be surprised if the man has nightmares for the rest of his life. Princess Peacock joins her shortly thereafter to direct the newly freed victims to the elevators and reassure the ones still locked up that the police are going to assist in making sure everyone gets out.

With the immediate danger gone, Keith can feel the adrenaline leave him. Completely drained, he lets the others lead the evacuation and just listens to the news coming through the other heroes' mics. They find out that Hawkmoth had vanished like one of Pidge's illusions during the confusion of the battle, if he'd even really been in the secret facility in the first place. The genuine Hawkmoth supporters that they capture eventually reveal that this is only one of several underground locations where Hawkmoth is coercing some of the world's best minds. None of them can provide any information on Hawkmoth's ultimate goal, and the majority of the records stored at this location have mysteriously disappeared. In fact, the police find nothing in the files but a name: the Voltron Project.

It's about 3am by the time the police are sure that they've gotten all the victims out, and although the heroes do find Shay in the crowd, conversations with other victims reveal that the Holts had been moved to one of Hawkmoth's other underground labs months ago. Kit leaves after that, dully citing school in the morning, and Keith wishes he could find the right words to express his sympathy for her still-missing family. Bee starts speaking with the police and a few sleepy members of the press about tonight's events, and Princess Peacock and Coran disappear to parts unknown. Jade Turtle volunteers to escort Shay home, so it's just Keith and Chat Noir on the rooftop. Or rather, Keith and Lance.

Keith is about to fall over from exhaustion, but he jerks awake when Lance sighs. "Seriously, you couldn't have let me have 'being a secret superhero' as my own thing to win at?"

"Listen, Lance, no one is losing here. We're working together, like we have been for months."

Lance starts to make a dissenting sound, but then hums thoughtfully. "Huh. You know what… I didn't lose. You're right," he says. Keith is so shocked that he forgets the rest of what he'd been going to say. "I didn't lose," Lance declares again, and there's a one-second window in which Keith thinks that Lance might have matured after all before he continues, "I actually won this, didn't I?"

"What?"

"You think I'm awesome."

" _What?_ "

Lance looks smug. "You said so, during the class debate. You think I'm _loyal_ and _have good character_ and _can quickly make good decisions_."

Keith's jaw drops. This is not the reaction he'd been expecting. "Wha – you – you practically wanted to be captain for Team Ladybug! You think I look good in my costume! And I definitely heard 'clever and honorable' in there!"

"I was exaggerating for the debate!"

"Bullshit!"

"You kissed me after we fought Bond."

"Only because you kissed me first!" Fighting with Lance is familiar, but this situation is decidedly surreal.

"Aha, but I kissed Ladybug, hero extraordinaire, and you knowingly kissed me."

"When you were Chat and I was out of costume, you wanted to be my friend. _You_ brought it up to _me!_ "

"You were different when I talked to you as Chat."

"Yeah, because you laid off the over-the-top flirting that you try on Ladybug."

"Do you have a problem with the way I interact with people, Mr. Antisocial?"

"Yes! It's annoying and I can't return the flirting because –" Keith stops, realizing that he'd almost just blurted out his feelings to prove a point in an argument. Definitely not the ideal scenario for a confession.

"Because what? You're as red as your costume, Keith."

"No reason. That's just a trick of the light."

"There was literally no change in the lighting up here. And don't underestimate my ability to pry the answer out of you. I have several siblings."

"You wouldn't."

"Let me pull out some of the puns I've been saving…"

The fact that Keith can't get rid of his goddamn feelings for Lance truly boggles the mind. "God, you're _such_ a child."

"Yeah, but you like me anyway." Keith opens his mouth to lie, but the words get stuck on his tongue. For all that he's been fine lying to cover up being Ladybug, it seems that now, in this moment, he can't think of anything to say but the truth. He can feel his face turning redder as the silence stretches between them and the denial that Lance is obviously expecting goes unsaid. "Wait, you _like_ me?" Keith's stomach twists unpleasantly at Lance's surprise, wishing he could undo the last few minutes and just go home. The only good news here is that absolutely no one will believe Lance when he inevitably mentions it at school.

Keith's pause has gone on too long for a lie to be believable now. "When you're not being a complete idiot, you have some qualities that aren't terrible," he manages to get out.

Instead of gloating that he's won against Keith or being horrified by the admission, Lance's face reddens. "I, uh, like you too. I mean, it's Ladybug that I started out liking, but it's not hero-worship like we get from fans, you know?" He would be one to know the difference – Keith briefly recalls the proposal he'd walked in on and the date invitations that they've both received from complete strangers. "I like battling akuma with you and patrolling with you. I like the face you make when you realize exactly what to do with your Lucky Charm item and the smile when we fist-bump at the end of a fight. I kind of even like that you hate my puns, because it gives you something to complain about and I get to see a side of you that no one else does." Lance pauses for so long that Keith thinks he's done, but then he makes one last confession: "I liked the way it felt when you kissed me."

"I did too," Keith whispers, but it's Lance who leans in to close the distance between them. It's just a brush of lips, barely a kiss at all, but Keith's whole face feels hot when he pulls away.

"You know," Lance says with a slowly widening grin, "akuma are going to be in a _spot_ of trouble from now on, 'cause we are gonna make an even more _purrfect_ team."

" _No_." And the spell is broken.

"Ha, it's too late, LB, you're stuck with me now."

Keith sighs. "You're delirious, go to bed."

"Are you coming with?"

" _Goodnight_ , Lance."

* * *

 _Notes: I hope you enjoyed the identity reveal, because I certainly laughed while writing it. Of course it would be an inappropriately-timed revelation that makes everything clear._

 _For those of you who feel that some plot elements in the story-line are left hanging (e.g. Shiro's history in Hawkmoth's clutches and the fact that they haven't found the Holts yet), that's because I have a lot of ideas for backstory and about how the heroes are going to track down more of the secret facilities for the Voltron Project. It might be a while before I'm able to write more, but I would love to revisit this 'verse!_

 _Thank you so much for all your support, especially the readers who left such wonderful comments!_


End file.
